Business Update; 13th March 2020

Coronavirus Contingency Plans

Meeting Minutes: 13th March 2020.

With the inevitability of the Coronavirus affecting business operations at Mother, we are taking the following actions to minimise disruption and responsibly adopt our civic duty to protect those who are vulnerable from the threat of infection.

Home Working

ICT equipment has been purchased and will be issued to all staff week commencing 16th March to facilitate working from home. All staff have been instructed to take their equipment home at the end of every business day so normal operations can continue if we are forced to close with little warning.

Home Working Trial

On Friday 20th March, Mother will be closing its offices and all staff will be working from home. Whilst the offices will be closed, it will be business as usual from ever other perspective. Our aim is to identify issues that might trouble our business so they can be addressed to ensure business continuity in the event that we are forced to close our offices at a later date.   

Client Engagement

Staff have been instructed to limit face-to-face engagement with clients where possible. Meetings will be performed via phone, audio or video conference. Remote Support is common practice at Mother and technical support staff have been instructed to pursue this line of support even when on-site remedial action is preferred. In business critical scenarios, technical staff will attend customer premises as usual.

Behaviour

Staff have been instructed to assume everyone they come into contact with is a threat and to act accordingly. Ones behaviour will always change when in the company of someone with the flu; we have suggested everyone adopt a behaviour that assumes everyone does.  

Hygiene

Additional hand-sanitisers have been ordered and will be distributed throughout our office spaces. Personal hand-sanitisers have also been ordered for staff to keep in their possession and in their vehicles. Notices have been posted throughout our office spaces to remind staff to diligently wash their hands and use the sanitisers with regular frequency.

Government Guidelines

We are aligning our business practices to those of UK government guidelines on COVID-19, including their recommendations for self isolation. Those key points are summarised below:

  • Anyone feeling unwell (particularly if suffering from high temperature or cough) irrespective of recent travel is to self-isolate for a minimum of 7 days
  • Anyone living with someone who is unwell (particularly if suffering from high temperature or cough) irrespective of their recent travel is to self-isolate for a minimum of 7 days